Canteen System Assistance Notes

Major General Kiyonobu Shiozawa, the Deputy Chief of the Liaison Department, was much more relaxed. From the moment he arrived, he had been responding with "Hmm, Hmm, Hmm, Hmm, Hmm, Hmm," while continuing to eat matcha daifuku and drink ice wine.

At this moment, the position of Vice Minister is more useful, without so many burdens... Morioka Gao suppressed his own wild thoughts and flattered Okamura: "Is that why you came up with this tactic of terror and awe, intending to regain the initiative on the battlefield?" "That's right. Our army is currently lacking in intelligence, mobility, and even financial resources."

Okamura peeled the jelly on the table and skillfully used a fork to pick it out:

"In this way, our army only needs to maneuver along the railway line, allowing the artillery to enter fixed positions, rapidly fire according to the parameters determined on the map, and then withdraw. The artillery shells can instantly travel over ten kilometers, leaving the Communist army's warning system unable to react - this will close the gap in intelligence capabilities.

"Our artillery can use fixed positions, and our field artillery units can also use the railways for mobility. If the Communist army wants to protect the villagers, they must race back and forth against our railway locomotives, which puts them in a passive position.

"Our army could maneuver back and forth along the safe railway line, attack any village, and then wait for the Communists to come and exact revenge... no, just die. This would give us another advantage in mobility. Furthermore, since it was our army that was mobilizing the Communists, we had a strategic advantage as well."

"Finally, simply firing artillery shells to cause casualties and reduce troop deployments would also help save costs. I'm not sure we can surpass the Communist Army in this regard.

But at least it's much more economical than moving out as a battalion or regiment!"

"So, from now on, our army will just move around randomly, bombarding villages on the edge of the Communist-controlled area with artillery?"

"Yes, Morioka-kun, this is the best solution I can think of. We just need to kill civilians... no, potential communists with firepower. Then, we can communicate through the radio.

Newspapers and rumors will have a deterrent effect, which can reduce the influence of the Communist Army among the civilian population.

support. "

Okamura Yasuji said, "If the 3rd Aircraft Division had not been transferred south, the North China Army would have had too few aircraft available. I think it would have been more effective to have aircraft drop explosive and incendiary bombs on villages and towns. The Communist army would have been more likely to be unable to bear it and come to fight a decisive battle with our army."

Is it because the Communist Army always claims to care about civilians?

The Imperial Army also promoted this, but they were just a bunch of civilians, so it was just like that...

Moriokataka was noncommittal about Okamura's point of view. He made a slight criticism and asked:

"But what if the Communists evacuate all civilians from the area around the railway and ignore our artillery fire?"

"That's good. This way, our army can gain an additional no-man's-land security belt of more than ten kilometers: there are no potential communist troops in this area.

The real communist army would not be able to gain a foothold, and the security of the transportation lines was protected in disguise."

"I understand. Thank you for your answer."

Mori Ganggao nodded, his expression impassive, but he was secretly complaining, "Okamura, you old idiot! You couldn't break through the railway, you couldn't even defeat the Communists, and you're just bombarding a few villages and expect to report that victory to headquarters?" "So, mobile bombardment is indeed an effective tactic," he said. "However, how long do you expect this kind of military operation, targeting civilian villages rather than enemy troops, to last?"

"It will probably take a long time. This is beyond human control."

Speaking of this, Okamura Neiji blinked and pretended not to understand the voice-over.

He picked up his wine glass, but didn't drink. As previously mentioned, the Communist Army's artillery and aircraft in Shanxi and Suiyuan had proven their ability to draw continuous support from Chilu, Yingmi, and the United States. Furthermore, their skill in deploying them far surpassed that of the Nationalist Army in Shancheng. Therefore, the Communist Army was already significantly impacting the long-term stability of the Co-Prosperity Zone. Without further deterrence, it would be difficult to maintain the continued prosperity of the region.

"Then please allow me to wish Your Excellency Okamura great military success."

Lieutenant General Morioka also raised his glass and toasted Okamura.

I hope that in the near future you will be able to completely crush the Communist army's will, just as Lord Itagaki previously crushed the Yan army in Shanxi Province. As far as I know, as long as there is a way to maintain the situation in the Sino-Japanese Incident, the Prime Minister and the Minister of War will fully support it.

"Hahahaha. Although a sword is sharp, it can't cut through flowing water. Although I don't want to admit it, military strategy doesn't simply decide victory on the battlefield. We are just warriors,

Some things cannot be intervened or adjusted on the battlefield.

"But I think it might still be possible to deal with the situation on my own."

The two Showa veterans drank their wine in one gulp. Okamura Yasuji finally showed a little confidence - but only a little.

"As for completely eliminating the Communist Army and ending the Sino-Japanese Incident, after much reflection, I can only wait for the turbulent times and major changes in the international situation. The Imperial Nation's military fortunes are long-lasting. When the Eightfold Sphere is unified, achieving these goals will surely not be difficult, right?"

Chapter 516: Long Attack Dezhou, Short Attack Weixian

A few days after the "Liujiadian Village Massacre", the final statistics were reported to major bases and military sub-districts through the wireless network: the number of people who died and were injured on the spot, plus those who unfortunately died from secondary injuries such as infection and trampling, totaled 117; and the number of people with minor or serious injuries totaled 372.

Over the past few years, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army had shielded the retreat of the masses, even at the cost of exposing themselves and sacrificing themselves. This was a common occurrence under every Japanese commander in China. Okamura Yasuji, who had read numerous combat records and summaries, may have seized on this fact, hoping to use the masses as a shield, using their blood to force the Eighth Route Army in Shandong Province to attack the Japanese's heavily defended artillery positions and fight on the battlefields they desired.

"A kind person has his weaknesses." Perhaps this clever war criminal thought so, so he used this method that had no effect on the Japanese army to deal with the Eighth Route Army.

But this behavior itself is full of arrogance and discrimination. This kind of people who always use "philosophical problems" and "moral choices" as "test questions" to kidnap others

They never think about how they would answer such questions.

In my self-consciousness, I am just standing on the dry shore, able to remain indifferent and comment on those who are struggling in the water.

Therefore, the Eighth Route Army and the 101st Army would never follow the script drawn up by General Okamura Yasuji.

—―――————

"Hello, comrades from the County Party Committee!"

"Comrades, special envoys from Ji Zhong, you are finally here!" Passing through the now clear Jinpu Road passage, pairs of hands clasped together tightly.

For defense against artillery fire, wooden fortifications were the primary approach. However, within the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area in North China, the comrades in the Hebei-Central base area were the most experienced. In the Hebei-Central base area, the "anti-Japanese trenches" connecting villages and towns were massive, stretching tens of thousands of kilometers in total. These trenches were divided into three standardized levels: blocking cavalry, connecting villages and vehicles, and encircling villages and towns. These trenches were constructed with a standardized and structured process.

"Let me tell you, just a few months ago, the Anti-Japanese Trench in Hebei kept the Japs' mecha regiment firmly at bay!" said a special envoy from Hebei who had come to support the Hebei-Shandong border base. "As long as we're prepared, artillery isn't a threat—on the battlefield, far fewer people are killed by artillery explosions than by machine guns."

Comrade Special Envoys, the land in Ningjin isn't much different from yours. It's just digging! The county committee is here, waiting for your advice. Let's mobilize the masses and get to work! "No problem! However, this defense against artillery fire involves more than just digging holes. Let's explain it to you bit by bit..."

The Hebei-Central Base, which was also bombarded by the Japanese army, quickly passed on their experience to the Hebei-East and Hebei-Shandong Border Bases - how to dig anti-artillery holes quickly and effectively, how to listen to the sound to identify the direction and type of incoming artillery shells, how to identify landmarks that could be used as observation points... Of course, the most important thing is how to build a "human chain" to track the movements of the Japanese artillery.

For example, villages under the management of the county party committee needed to coordinate their actions, inform each other of any suspicious signs they had detected, and hand them over to the guerrillas for review to confirm the possible artillery positions and shooting benchmarks of the Japanese. After all, the 75 field gun was not like the 12-inch Type 7 long-barreled howitzer, which required a fixed hardened position to fire, but it definitely needed a flat area and benchmarks for positioning.

Villages along the route could then deploy lookouts and observers to relay the whereabouts of the Japanese artillery locomotives through human intelligence transmission, hand-cranked telephones, and visual signals. Even if the Japanese were discovered to have already begun unloading the artillery, there was no need to worry: the Japanese 75mm field guns could deploy and prepare for battle, taking anywhere from one to two and a half hours, depending on the unit. During this time, residents in the line of fire could take shelter in shelters or leave the village or other dangerous areas where they might be exposed to the artillery fire.

"Finally, if our anti-Japanese trenches are connected, they'll probably do more than just protect against artillery fire!" said a cadre from the Central Hebei region who had come to support them. "Then we can build a railway across the anti-Japanese trenches and connect them to ours! That way, we can encircle the Japanese here, and when the Eighth Route Army's artillery arrives, we can turn around and bombard those damned Japs!"

One, one, one, one, one, one—

The vigorous "anti-fire artillery" and position-digging operations were launched in dozens of villages around the Dezhou Railway. At the same time, just as Okamura expected, in the almost completely unobstructed transportation channel, the military industry system in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region also began to fully supply more regularized armed forces to the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area.

Suddenly, packages of 12mm artillery, 100mm mortars, and various types of artillery shell production tools began appearing along North China's transportation corridors. Even with the support of several "materials centers" in Shandong Province, the base's airport, once used only for night flights, began extending and hardening its runway to improve takeoff and landing capabilities in preparation for the arrival of the Eighth Route Army's aviation unit.

However, all of these will take some time, including the transportation of supplies, the training of personnel, the reinforcement of equipment, the terrifying artillery attacks and mass anti-artillery movements by the Japanese army around Dezhou and Tianjin, and the transformation of the Eighth Route Army in Shandong Province into a field army. The process of transforming into a "mountain and wild" army may still need to continue for some time.

However, part of the Japanese 64th Division (formerly the 5th Independent Mixed Division) located in Huai County did not have time to appreciate the growth of the Eighth Route Army.

As a newly formed division upgraded from an independent mixed brigade, the addition of three infantry battalions significantly expanded the 64th Division's strength. Therefore, in addition to garrisoning Weihaiwei, the Zhifu Highway, and the gold mines in Nanzhao County and Beizhao County, it also assumed responsibility for the defense of Jiao'ao City, guarding the Japanese-occupied areas on the Jiaodong Peninsula.

To the west of the defense zone, at the intersection of the Weiwei Highway and the Jiaoji Railway, the towns of Huaixian and Fangzi stood like twin towers. Earlier, Wang Jianan and Luo Ruming of the Luzhong Base Area, leading the main force of the Luzhong Base Area and local troops, had taken advantage of the Japanese army's weakness to launch a surprise attack on Fangzi County, home to the railway station, and cut off both the Weiwei Highway and the Jiaoji Railway. Afterward, the troops rested briefly before preparing to attack Weixian County, a dozen kilometers away.

However, this attack yielded few significant results. Despite the Eighth Route Army's attempts to entice them, the remaining Japanese troops defending Weixian refused to leave the city, relying on the city walls and trenches to maintain their position. They also used the city's four 75mm field guns, four 75mm mountain guns, and a dozen or so Type 4 old-fashioned field guns to continuously fire. The Luzhong Field Army, which had only Japanese mountain guns and a few used Type 4 mountain guns as its field artillery, was severely defeated. They were unable to advance and were forced to retreat to Fangzi Town, where they stared blankly at the Japanese army next door.

The result of this battle gave the Japanese army confidence. Although the 64th Division was unable to gather for rescue due to its scattered forces, the 65th Division (formerly the 6th Independent Mixed Division) withdrawn from Laiwu, Taixi and other places had the motivation to come to the rescue - after giving up Rizhao, the 65th Division was able to withdraw about 4 infantry battalions.

They took the division's field artillery and traveled north by train to Quancheng, then headed east to rescue the 64th Division's infantry battalion and open up the connection between the railway and the highway.

The situation was beyond the capability of the Luzhong base's field and local forces to handle: they were unable to capture the city after a prolonged siege, and enemy reinforcements were on the way. If they continued to hunker down in Fangzi Town, they would likely fail to capture the city and be surrounded, resulting in a complete loss.

After repeated considerations, Wang Jianan could only telegraph the front command to report that the troops were preparing to evacuate Weixian and transfer.

Soon, the reply telegram from the front command was sent back.

"What do the leaders say?"

"Based on the current situation, General Lin requires us to carry forward the spirit of not fearing hardship and sacrifice, and to maintain the encirclement and suppression of the enemy in Weixian..." Political Commissar Luo Ruming frowned while holding the telegram, but soon, his eyes widened, and his expression turned to relaxation after surprise.

...Actively cooperate with the main force in the encirclement and attack of reinforcements. Great! The main force of the brother military sub-district has arrived from the Dezhou front!

"That's right! The sun doesn't shine in the east, but it shines in the west. The Japanese devils in Dezhou are not easy to defeat. These few Japanese battalions coming to Weixian will eventually be taken over and eaten!"

Chapter 517: Strategic Analysis at the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee

(Update)

The artillery bombardment and counter-artillery operations in Dezhou and Jidong would continue for some time, and the 55th Division (formerly the 6th Independent Mixed Division) attacking Weixian encountered three Shandong field divisions rushing from the front line of Jizhong on the way - now, the balance of power on the battlefield was reversed, and the previous situation of insufficient firepower and manpower and the lack of ability of the troops to attack was solved.

One of the four Japanese battalions was surrounded and annihilated, while another battalion was dispersed, its remnants fleeing to Weixian. Later, the supporting field troops gathered artillery and joined forces with the Luzhong Field Army, which was confronting the Japanese in Fangzi County, to launch a joint attack on Weixian. Under continuous artillery fire and the apparently clumsy but methodical coordination of infantry and artillery, part of the Japanese 54th Division (formerly the 5th Independent Mixed Division) and part of the 5th Division, which had relied on fortifications to hold the strategic position, were ultimately crushed by the Eighth Route Army, and the Weixian offensive was ultimately victorious.

The only regret was that the other two battalions of the 55th Division received advance warning from the accompanying search regiment and turned around and ran away. The firepower of several Shandong field troops was indeed not as good as that of the Northwest and Shanxi-Suiyuan Field Armies with heavy artillery support. They were too slow to attack the Japanese troops in the encirclement, which led to their final successful retreat to Quancheng and escape.

This may be the last time this kind of "regret" will happen.

Despite previously lacking direct support from the rear base, the "Shanye" army, steadily developing, defeated large Japanese units backed by the railway and captured a fortified city protected by artillery fire. This was a groundbreaking "first" for the anti-Japanese war in Shandong Province.

"Although the scale of the Weixian battle is not that large, it is actually not simple!"

General Zhu commented on the battle reports submitted by the Luzhong and Qinghe Military Sub-districts: "They were able to independently defeat the Japanese troops defending key towns with artillery support, without the support of large-caliber artillery and air force, and without the help of an automated command system. They were also able to annihilate the large Japanese forces backed by the railway. Now, the Japanese 12th Army in Lu Province is in trouble!"

"It's not that hard! We in these bases have been through such days. Things are changing, the strategic situation is shifting, and the invaders will have to endure hard times too.

"I think our policy shouldn't be biased. The 1st Army in Shanxi Province has been suffering for a long time, and the 12th Army in Shandong Province is now in the same boat. According to Comrade Xiao Liu, they've finally reached a state of mutual understanding!"

"Master, now the majority of the Japanese 64th Division in Weihaiwei and Yantai has been strategically isolated." Vice Chairman Zhou, who had also returned from the Kuomintang-controlled area, glanced at the map and made a brief analysis. "However, the Japanese Army can rely on ships to transport supplies, so the Jiaodong Military Sub-district probably won't be able to capture it in a short period of time. We should mention this point in our telegram to them."

"Jiaodong and Jiao'ao are both coastal areas, and Jiao'ao is also home to the Japanese navy gunboats. It is indeed difficult to encircle and blockade them. The situation is stronger than the people, so we should not rush for success.

Causing unnecessary losses.”

The Chairman nodded. "The tone of the telegram should be primarily encouraging and affirming their combat achievements. Furthermore, it should emphasize that the primary task of the various military sub-districts in Shandong Province is to strengthen their internal strength. The 101st has built three military factories in Qinghe, Bohai, and Jiaodong. They're not as lucrative, but they still have all the necessary equipment. This condition is rare in other base areas across the country."

"If we can make good use of this advantage, it will turn into a bigger victory.

"Next, they'll have to prepare to receive artillery, aircraft, and even gunboats! By then, I don't think we'll have to passively take on Japanese warships. We can retreat and even have a chance to vent our anger. A gentleman's revenge is never too late. Our 'equal treatment' policy will sooner or later apply to their navy!"

The "Field Army Construction" initiative, begun in 1939 and formally established at the Seventh Session in October of that year, finally bore fruit. As time passed, even those without access to the Central Committee's "Special File No. 1" could sense that China's War of Resistance was reaching a critical juncture, transitioning from quantitative to qualitative change.

So at this time, it is very important to hold another meeting.

Military matters were planned by members of the General Staff, reviewed by veterans of the Central Military Commission, and helmed by the Chairman, the grand strategist, so there was little room for discussion. However, matters such as the focus of the entire Party's work and subsequent strategic adjustments still needed to be communicated to all Party branches nationwide through a meeting.

Unlike the era before Comrade Xiao Liu's time travel, the National Congress of our Party during the war wasn't held annually. Normally, it was the Central Committee's plenary session that performed the duties. Furthermore, the communication capabilities of the various base areas, military sub-districts, and even Party committees were now highly advanced. After discussion, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to convene the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to inform everyone of the Party Central Committee's assessment of the strategic direction and to arrange the tasks for the next phase.

Besides directing the various bases to absorb the direct combat experience gained from the Suiyuan Campaign, this meeting was also more importantly about assigning them tasks for the coming period and explaining the reasons for the strategic adjustments. After all, there would indeed be "significant changes in the international situation" that would indeed affect the domestic situation of the War of Resistance.

The Chairman gave a vivid analogy to the Central Committee members below:

"It's like there's a box of oranges in front of you. The oranges are tall, short, fat, thin, green, red, and yellow. But we have to not just stare at the orange in front of us and not move - if one of the oranges in the box rots, the others will probably rot too if they're not prepared."

Hahahaha, everyone laughed heartily. There was nothing wrong with the Chairman's metaphor, and it was in his usual style.

In Europe, while Britain and Nazi Germany were still engaged in a fierce battle, it was essentially a simmering conflict. It looked frightening, but the truth was, the mustache couldn't cross the English Channel before, and now it was even more difficult. North of Africa, while the British weren't fighting well, the Italians were half-hearted, and Germany was always short of troops. Even if they were evenly matched, it wouldn't be clear who would prevail. Now, with the support of Lend-Lease, Britain had nothing to worry about; it was the Nazis who were worried.

"As for the reason, Nazi Germany's main fighting force was, after all, fighting against the Soviet Union. Some comrades doubted whether the Soviet Union, now suffering losses and territorial losses, could withstand the German onslaught. I see, before the fate of these illustrious invaders in history, which one did not gallop forward and advance with unstoppable force?

"Once they reach a stalemate, defeat is inevitable. I see, even though Hitler is fighting well now, he will ultimately be doomed!"

The Chairman waved his hand, and it seemed as if there was a huge world map in the air, with countless armies galloping across it.

"The Soviet Union has the advantage of time, place and people. The Soviet Red Army will have three allies supporting it: General Winter, strategic depth and the world including us.

There are other anti-fascist forces, not to mention the Soviet Union, and the people will not surrender to the invaders.

The two allies of the Nazi German army were either half-hearted or far away. Hitler could only rely on advance preparations for war and the temporary quality advantage of the German army to fight the war, but it would not last long.

"General Winter will have a significant impact on Nazi Germany's logistics, while the Soviet Union's logistics will gradually recover and strengthen. Perhaps, even that mustachioed Hitler will repeat Napoleon's mistakes."

"The Soviet territory represents a vast strategic depth. Every advance by the German army comes at a price. Comrades, we cannot ignore the losses of the German army by focusing on the Soviet army's losses. The Soviet army is not the Red Army. The German army cannot survive by relying on captured troops. Every advance will result in the loss of manpower. In the end, they will be crushed and bloodied in heavily defended Soviet cities. There may be one, two, or even three such cities - and then, the battle will be a battle in which the Soviet Red Army will seize the initiative."

He made his own strategic judgment on the Soviet-German battlefield and continued:

"Japan is in China, being driven back step by step by us on the front lines, and suffering heavy losses in terms of both men and money behind enemy lines. Are the fascists simply going to watch the war situation deteriorate?"

They certainly can't hope to defeat us now, but militarism and fascism cannot survive without waging war. A tiger will always bite—they can't defeat us. Those old-school colonial powers still have many colonies in Asia. I think the Japanese will probably once again raise their Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and, like they did with the Indochina invasion, go to war with the British, Americans, and Dutch in Southeast Asian colonies and the Pacific.

The Chairman's voice revealed his characteristic optimism, confidence, and fearlessness as he asserted:

"China's anti-aggression and anti-fascist war is not an isolated, stand-alone war. It will not only be affected by the overall situation of the world's anti-fascist war, but will also in turn affect the world's anti-fascist war and, in turn, the world situation!"

"We can't just focus on the small piece of land in our country where we fight the Japanese!"

Chapter 518: Xinsi Fruitful Results (⑴) Ning Province Alliance

Industry is an indispensable force for achieving a higher position than in history during the changing world order of World War II. And a systemic industry of a certain level and scale possesses the ability to self-propagate and radiate.

As a man with a futuristic vision, Liu Helian demonstrated a far-sighted and systematic approach to industrial planning that surpassed others of his time and space. Consequently, many of his seemingly insignificant initiatives during early planning proved to be perfectly useful, earning him a curious reputation.

What about "treasure box", "master key", or even "encyclopedia" and "jujube tree"? Now, Huang Jingzhai, who was inspecting the Ning Province Industrial Consortium, sighed:

"Some people say you're a fortune teller, Comrade Liu. I say no, we Communists must adhere to scientific principles. Now, I think you're a bit of a foresighted person."

(Huang Jingzhai's original name was Wang)

"Secretary Wang, how can you slander someone out of thin air? Industry itself requires the coordination and cooperation of multiple departments," Liu Helian complained.

All I want to do is be prepared and be prepared for any eventuality!"

After the February Incident, the Eighth Route Army's control of Ningxia extended from Wuda in the north to Qingtongxia in the south. The "Huinong Complex" could now be gloriously upgraded to the "Ningxia Province Consortium," an industrial cluster with a large number of supporting manufacturers and a primary, basically complete industrial chain.

These factories, with Huinong Iron and Steel Plant as the core, have spawned a large number of machinery factories, arsenals and supporting factories, providing various industrial consumables, infrastructure and even heavy industrial products to the Eighth Route Army and many factories in Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia and Northwest China.